McCracken Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach granted a motion Friday to sever the cases of two defendants accused in a fatal shooting last year near the Brickhouse on Boyd Street.Christopher L. Smith, 34, and Tracell D. Nunn, 27, each face a murder charge in the death of 46-year-old Gary Johnson.They were initially scheduled to be tried together, along with a third defendant, Denzell Powell, 23.

The three men are each charged with murder.The charges stem from the April 16, 2016, shooting death of Johnson, who police say got caught in the crossfire among Powell, Smith and Nunn.Smith and Nunn also face charges of attempted murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and Nunn has an additional charge of being a persistent felony offender.The attempted murder charges stem from Smith and Nunn shooting at Powell, according to the McCracken grand jury indictment.The three men were initially scheduled to be tried together on April 24.

That date is now reserved for Powell's trial. However, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Raymond McGee said if Powell's trial does not happen -- say if a plea agreement was reached beforehand -- the next defendant in line, Nunn, would be tried.Powell's attorney filed a motion to sever her client's case from the other two in December, which Kaltenbach granted earlier this month.McGee said an additional trial date was also set for May in case no plea agreements are reached.